TUSCALOOSA — Amid all the talk surrounding about Alabama’s open quarterback competition between Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa, Mac Jones may as well have been a forgotten man.

Well that’s no longer the case after the Crimson Tide redshirt freshman — the third of Alabama’s three scholarship quarterbacks — threw his own hat into the ring with nearly 300 passing yards in leading the Crimson over the White, 24-12, in Alabama’s annual A-Day spring game Saturday inside Bryant-Denny Stadium.

“I’m super proud of him. One thing I tell him every day, just come to work, be the best you can be, control what you can control and just be the best you you can be,” senior running back Damien Harris said of Jones. “I know everybody talks about Jalen and Tua, but I think today Mac showed that his name deserves to be in the same conversation with those guys.”

With injured sophomore Tagovailoa (hand) dressed out but relegated to the sideline with a hard wrap around his left hand, Saturday was officially the Jalen-and-Mac show, and the younger Jones managed to make quite the impression while working exclusively against Alabama’s second-team defense.

Jones, who was named the game’s Dixie Howell co-MVP award winner with kicker Joseph Bulovas, threw for a game-high 289 yards on 23-of-35 passing and two touchdowns. That included a 65-yard catch-and-run that redshirt freshman receiver Chadarius Townsend caught in the middle of the field, bounced off a defender and raced down the right sideline into the end zone to go ahead 14-0 3:21 into the second quarter. Jones also added a 46-yard touchdown strike to junior slot receiver Xavian Marks with 35 seconds remaining to put the game away for good.

“We’ve been very pleased with the progress that Mac Jones has made, so that gives us more depth at that position,” Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban said.

Alabama quarterback Mac Jones (10) throws under pressure from Alabama linebacker Markail Benton (36) during the A-Day Game at Bryant-Denny Stadium on the University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa, Ala. on Saturday April 21, 2018.

Of course, even with Jones’ breakout performance, much of the postgame talk centered around Hurts and his continued struggles moving the ball through the air.

Hurts — who was benched at halftime of January’s national championship in place of the then-freshman Tagovailoa, a move that re-opened the starting quarterback competition this offseason — was an inconsistent 19-of-37 passing for 195 yards and one fourth-quarter interception while competing against Alabama’s elite first-team defense.

Despite the struggles, Saban maintained ardent support for his two-year starter.

“I was not disappointed in the way Jalen played,” Saban said. “We have some guys that can rush, and even though we were rushing four guys most of the time, there was way too much pressure in the pocket for the quarterback to be able to operate like we would like.

“Jalen made some good plays and throws, and I’m sure if you were to talk to him he would say, ‘I wish there were things I did better and can improve on.’”

Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts (2) throws during the A-Day Game at Bryant-Denny Stadium on the University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa, Ala. on Saturday April 21, 2018.

At one point, Saban was audibly and visibly frustrated by Hurts’ inability to move the ball through the air, including when one of ESPN’s on-field microphones picked up the veteran coach complaining about it: “… I mean, the third-team quarterback can move the team right down the field throwing the ball.”

The complaint was heard as Hurts pulled the ball down and scrambled for a 26-yard gain midway through the second quarter after starting 3-of-7 for just 18 yards before that run. Following a 2-of-4 showing in the first quarter, Hurts went into halftime with jut 32 yards on 6-of-14 passing, including completing just 4-of-10 attempts in the second quarter alone.

Hurts let it fly coming out of halftime, throwing for 163 yards on 13-of-23 passing in the second half, but was never able to find the end zone despite four trips inside the Crimson team’s 25-yard-line, three of which resulted in short field goals.

“We have the best defense in the country, year-in-and-year-out,” Harris said. “We made a lot of big plays, good runs and good passes, but they were a great defense and it’s hard to finish in the red zone. That is just one thing that we have to continue to improve on.

“We thought last year that finishing in the red zone was one area where we needed to work. So that might be something that we need to continue to improve on.”

But in the meantime, with Tagovailoa expected to be ready for the start of preseason camp in August, the Tide head coach acknowledged there’s plenty of room — and time — for improvement as players take off for the summer.

“I’m not necessarily satisfied where we are, and I don’t think anyone on our team should be satisfied where we are,” Saban said. “I hope every individual can point to something that can improve their performance.”